To Date or Dump Male Characters in Dramas
(This article will not include villains; on the contrary, it's about the main leads acting dumb.)
There are moments when I wanted nothing but to punch a character in the face to knock some sense into him/her. Villains can make my blood boil but nothing can make me lose my mind like one of the leads making a dumb decision or doing something disappointing. That moment when you scream "You did not just do that" then wait patiently for the consequences to knock some sense into the character instead of your punch.
Minor spoilers ahead !!!
5) Gook Seung Hyeon from Cunning Single Lady - ep 14
Gook Seung Hyeon was the typical sweet loving SML until he decided to turn into a jerk overnight. I hate him along with his family. No wonder the mother ran off. I would too. Episode 14 was full of moments when I wanted to grab Seung Hyeon and throw him out of the drama once and for all.
First, he said he cast aside his long-time friend for a girl that he knew loved his friend (friendship goals) and also said he would do anything to keep her by his side. He's making the same mistake his father did with his mom knowing it's wrong but doing it anyway. Besides the female lead should be the one to decide who to date. Forcing her was never the key.
Then, when he said he doesn't want to see Jung Woo and Ae Ra getting back together, I lost it. Instead of comforting his sister and trying to convince her that she shouldn't interfere in the main leads' relationship, he agreed and even reassured her that he will try himself to separate the two lovers. He not only gave the second female lead fake hope but made both sound desperate, pathetic and selfish. And again, who is he to decide the fate of other people and threaten the male lead. He made me wonder where is the real Seung Hyeon, the cheerful kind one.
4) Park Hoon from Doctor Stranger - ep 16
I know what you're all gonna say: Park Hoon was a great male lead. No hate please but in my opinion, he was one of the worst MLs ever. Putting aside the fact he was a bit reckless, he made me confused more than anything: "Is he in love with the SFL (who I didn't like at all)? Is he by the side of the FL just out of guilt and pity? But he seemed so in love with the FL at the beginning. Did he have a change of heart?". I know the FL is bipolar too but she had her reasons and keeping him safe was one of them. Who knows what she's been through just to see him.
LIAR!! I was really mad because the FL was already insecure and felt like he was feeling guilty about letting her fall down. What's worse is that when she told him they should comfort the SFL, he told her not to and said they shouldn't feel guilty or hide their relationship, but as soon as the call ended he was comforting the SFL. BIPOLAR LIAR!! I mean why would he do that? And he was supposed to be smart. He could have said the SFL is just his friend and he would talk to her to avoid misunderstandings or because she's having a hard time but no, he had to lie. Because at first when he talked to the SFL, he seemed like he didn't care at all about her.
For the FL what he did was a confirmation of all of her doubts and even though she kept an almost blank face, she was definitely hurt. Who wouldn't be? If I was there instead of her I would have gone to him and slapped the hell out of him then cool down and ask him why he lied, but she decided to keep quiet and put her life on the line to protect him. Sure he loves her so why lie!!
3) Kim Do Jin from A Gentleman's Dignity - ep 4
If I said Park Hoon was stupid and bipolar for what he did then Do Jin was worse. He is a typical jerk playboy ML. At first, when he said he likes the FL and wants to ask her out I was like "Well, that escalated quickly" because usually, that type of ML is hard to persuade and too arrogant to admit his love. So I was relieved they didn't add this cliché. On the contrary, Do Jin is the first to confess, to ask her out, to do everything. He seemed like a smart guy who knows what he wants and what to do to get it.
That is until this happened. The FL is right, to give your crush a 1300$ gift? I wouldn't accept that if I was her either. So no need to be rude. I now believe in "Once a playboy, always a playboy". Ugh and that bored dumb facial expression he held makes his face the most punchable face of the year, making it seem like he did nothing wrong. So you ask a girl out and sleep with another, so gentleman-like, Do Jin. All of my "Give him a chance, he seems like a nice guy" vanished. Now I know they are not dating so he's not cheating on her but if you like someone you would never see someone else while still chasing your crush - that's almost like cheating.
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The FL went from surprised to pissed off and I don't blame her because of how rude he was to her. Even if she gave the gift back and said why can't you give it to another girl right in front of her.
At least we think alike. But his reply was really annoying "One-sided love of a man, can't I sleep with other women?" then he said: "Are you going to sleep with me?" and I knew at that moment I'm done. Boy, you're so wrong. Just because you like her she doesn't have to like you back or sleep with you because unlike you and those you slept with before, this woman has some dignity and self-respect. If the ML's excuse was that she likes another guy it's stupid because she was honest since the beginning unlike the ML and he was the one that kept on chasing her even though he knew she liked someone else.
2) Qin Sang from Siege In Fog - ep 32
"You never know how strong you are... until being strong is the ONLY choice you have" Dumped in the harshest way by the love of her life, witnessing her father accused and going to jail causing her family to fall apart, forced to marry a guy she barely knows, having to deal with rumours and malicious gossip about her husband who's busy having fun and constantly meeting other women without even hiding it and the list goes on... all while remaining quiet and calm sitting still and looking pretty because she's nothing but the daughter of a mere government officer in the household of the most powerful family in the country at a time when women didn't have much freedom or many choices. It broke her and made her icy cold, brave and cunning.
But nobody is perfect; Qin Sang had some flaws and her biggest one was her attachment to the past. She was strong enough to endure but when it comes to letting go she becomes weak and reckless opposite to her character.
(major spoiler ahead)
In ep 32, it was clearly her heart taking control of her but I felt so mad that she's deceiving the ML and helping the SML who didn't deserve it. He's clearly the murderer and she knows it yet she planned to save him. When she gave the ML sleeping pills I was furious, until she said "I'm sorry, I just didn't want you to see me when I'm ugly", all my anger turned into pity. She thinks that she's ugly when she's doing something wrong and I agree she never looked uglier than when she did this or maybe it was just because I didn't like her dress.
I never sided with the SFL in this drama but this scene was an exception. I don't blame the SFL for taking revenge on the FL's past lover - he murdered her father after all. But the way the FL responded all confident and evil saying things like "he chose me first" and "I'll tell your secret to your husband" (so out of character for her), it pissed me off that I wanted nothing more than for the SFL to punch her as hard as she could. She didn't even feel ashamed for what she did (even though it's all an act) and threatened the SFL using the ML. I was shocked tbh and never imagined the usually wise and kind Qin Sang to do such a thing for a guy who left her humiliated waiting for him in the rain. I couldn't understand why no matter how much I thought about it. The SFL was on the edge of crying she was so mad saying things like: "You don't deserve Lian Kai" and "I didn't know you were that manipulative". As for me I was just confused (about why the FL did this), sad (how would the ML feel about this), disappointed (the FL was supposed to be wise and kind, not reckless), angry ("traitor" was echoing in my head and I was ready to shoot).
The worst time to wake up, Lan Po. The poor guy was all dizzy then as soon as he heard the word "past lover" he turned his head with a mix of surprise and anger on his face. He finally got to know who his wife's old flame and the enemy was but in the worst timing ever. I remember it clearly in ep 18 when the FL asked if he wanted to know who the guy she loved was, but he yelled that if he knew who he was he would go crazy because that person hurt her, yet she still loves him, and that's why he envies him. He lost his mind in that ep and he confessed to her but her reply was like a dagger stabbed him. That scene never fails to break my heart but also makes me feel like I wanted to skin the FL alive because she said he should have told her earlier so she would use him for her revenge instead of begging for his help.
These two truly had a long journey of sadness and misunderstandings. But even after all that Qin Sang did in this scene I couldn't agree that she didn't deserve the ML (Lan Po) because, as she said, he chose her first and did many bad things to her too, so I guess this made them equal, but I still think that what she did was terribly wrong.
1) Kang Ma Roo from The Innocent Man - ep 19
A fucked-up person is probably the only way to describe Kang Ma Roo. I tried (I really did) to like this character but I ended up hating it even more. Many think that what he did for the FL after the accident was enough but I always thought that if he didn't ruin everything in the beginning, there wouldn't be an accident in the first place. I'm not heartless; I pitied him too sometimes because he truly felt guilty and tried his best to fix things, even though his life was on the line knowing that for sure the FL wouldn't forgive no matter what and would never believe him even if he said "I love you" a million times and nobody would dare to blame her or call her cruel.
I rated "Innocent Man" 1/10 for the money and effort put in this drama because rating it 0/10 would be a bit disrespectful. I disliked the drama so much I watched the last 8 eps with x2 speed just to get to the ending as fast as I could and end this hell. (No offense to whoever loved the drama.)
What is actually happening? So let me guess, the writers needed someone to blame for everything and chose him. I felt my blood boil watching him apologize to Jae Hee the SFL and the only one I hate more than Ma Roo. She was not only evil and selfish, she ruined his life (well it was his choice) but still, the day her boyfriend that she said was as precious to her as her own life went to jail instead of her, she went to a middle-aged married CEO who turned out to be her lover, telling him she sacrificed her friend to save his reputation, so he kicked his wife out to marry her and she had his child. And when Ma Roo got out of jail, she used him once again to save herself, lied straight to his face and through the drama she kept on trying to manipulate him. I know for sure that she had feelings for him but she was so selfish and obsessed with money and power that she buried them.
Back to ep 19:
The FL watching them together from afar broke my heart. He was all caring and nice to the SFL, holding her hands as he remembers how they’ve always been cold and how, once, her cold hands were all he’d worried about, that it made the FL even more mad at him. Damn it! I was mad too, so mad that he blamed himself for the SFL's attitude and said that if he didn't take the blame for her in the beginning, she wouldn't have become like this but he was wrong - she planned this all along. I mean, if you think about it she was the CEO's mistress before the accident happened meaning she was cheating on him. Plus, she's been always hungry for power and status, using her beauty and young age, so he didn't change her; he just gave her the chance to climb higher and become more than a mistress.
Ma Roo thought about how things would have been different if he had let her turn herself in, then he said that he would have waited for her return, no matter how long it took. He would have proposed when she got out of jail. And he kept on describing their life together and how happy they would be living a simple life relying on each other. He paused and said "Then would Noona have been happy? Would you have been happier than now? I’ve had those thoughts. It was all wrong since then." And that because of him she lost the ability to differentiate right from wrong. And for that, Ma Roo apologizes, because he made her this way. He’s taking responsibility for it, and finally, he said: “I will go to Noona. Love… I can’t promise love, but I can stay with you forever. As long as what you want from me isn’t love, as long as it isn’t that, it’s fine. Wherever noona is, I will wait for you, I’ll be understanding, I’ll be able to hold it in, endure it, and I will hold your hand. I won’t let it go. Stop all the useless acts, and throw away all the heavyweights laid upon you. And if there happens to be the punishment that you deserve, accept it all. I will wait for you at any time, so… will you come to me?”
WTF!!!! So he still loves her? I don't think so, so why did he promise to wait for her. Wake up! She was using you all the time, and hurt you in so many ways. Friend or lover, that girl is toxic and you should stay away from her because if she ever went back in time or found another chance she would do the same. Or was all of this to convince her to turn herself in? I still don't understand why he blamed himself. Through the drama, he seemed to hate her so much then suddenly this. I'm done!!
Hope you enjoyed it!
(Even though the topic is a little bit weird.)
What do you think? Have you ever wanted to punch a character in the face?
